


Convalescent Care

by maserspark



Category: Persona 3, Persona 4, Persona Series
Genre: Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family, Family Bonding, Family Feels, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-05
Updated: 2018-05-05
Packaged: 2019-05-02 17:16:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14549505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maserspark/pseuds/maserspark
Summary: While dealing with a small Shadow incursion, Labrys is critically damaged. Aigis is desperate to help her recover, as the event brings up some uncomfortable memories and insecurities.





	Convalescent Care

Two of them, against a horde.

A Shadow outbreak, on the outskirts of Tokyo. Aigis personally hadn’t seen one this bad since the Inaba incident, but thankfully, they weren’t manifesting into reality yet. Still constrained in one of their own pocket dimensions, like the Midnight Channel or, even farther back, the Dark Hour.

Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons are exceedingly well at what they’re meant to do. Their bodies can take more punishment than a human’s. They’re able to wield such potent weapons with seeming ease. Their reflexes, their endurance, better than anything achieved by mere flesh and blood.

But, everyone has a limit.

The two sisters entered the Shadows’ dimension, hunted and fought their way to the source of the tear in reality. Shadows swarmed them in the darkened halls of a twisted Tokyo, from the small fodder to the huge, hulking beasts that shouldn’t even be allowed to exist. Every time they cut one down, five more took its place.

It never seemed to stop. The further they went, the more their resistance increased.

But, everything has an end.

The core of this little dimension lay in its deepest, darkest corner, behind countless Shadows. It was an artifact of powerful energy; Labrys had thought it another Plume of Dusk, some unknown fragment of mother Nyx, but Aigis wasn’t so sure. Not that it mattered. All they had to do was neutralize it.

When the Shadows had finally dispersed, the artifact now rendered useless, a still silence rang in their ears as the pocket dimension collapsed in on itself. Soon, this space would reintegrate with reality as they knew it, and they would return to the Tokyo they currently lived in.

Aigis looked over at her sister. Labrys’ right arm hung uselessly at her side, the shoulder joint mangled into twisted gears and partially-melted metal. A huge gash cut down her torso, missing the cage of her own Plume by centimeters, and ended at her waist. Sparks of electricity trickled from the cut, as well as the headpiece on her now-ragged hair. She held onto her ax with her good arm, leaving heavily against it. That, too, was bent and misshapen, some of the thrusters wholly out of commission.

Aigis was much better off, she had more experience dealing with Shadows. She was able to minimize damage to the extent that most of it could be handled by the automated repair/recharge station back home. Labrys, however…

Noticing Aigis’ attention, she slowly and jerkily turned her head toward her. She grinned and worked her good hand into a thumbs up.

Then she collapsed.

#

“Aigis, slow down.”

She had arranged for a transport to pick them up, thanks to Akihiko on the other line. He was technically their mission support, given that he was now in police training and had much less time to devote to actual missions.

“I do not understand, Akihiko-senpai, I am speaking at an appropriate speed,” Aigis replied, sitting next to Labrys in the unmarked black van. She didn’t recognize the driver and didn’t need to.

Labrys laid in the middle of the van, on a sturdy table meant to keep her steady. Aigis held her hand and didn’t move except to sway in response to the car’s jostling.

“I mean you don’t need to keep talking about how the mission went,” Akihiko said on the other line of the call. “I don’t want the after-action report yet, I just want to know how you and Labrys are doing.”

“Oh. Yes. Labrys is gravely injured and currently deactivated. She will need extensive repairs. I have already assembled a list of the spare parts she requires as well as the procedures to remove and replace…”

“One thing at a time, Aigis. How are _you_ doing?”

“…I have sustained minor damage to my actuators and mobility systems. My armored chassis requires replacements in several areas. My ammunition reserve is down to 5%, and my Orgia Mode is offline.”

“I meant emotionally.”

Aigis thought for a moment.

“I am still capable of emotion.”

Akihiko sighed. “That bad, huh? You’re worried about Labrys, aren’t you?”

Aigis closed her eyes. “Extremely.”

“She’ll be all right, Aigis. If she’s anything like you, she’s built like a tank. She’ll pull through.”

“Correct. We are constructed to be sturdier than many main battle tanks…”

“Not what I meant.”

“I believe Labrys will need five days of repairs before her systems will be stable enough for her to resume normal operation. I can reactivate her later today if I work efficiently.”

“Whoa, whoa, hang on,” Akihiko said. “What’s this ‘I’? We’re taking you both back to Kirijo HQ, you know. We need the engineers to look over both of you.”

“That is unnecessary, Akihiko-senpai. I am perfectly capable of performing the required repairs myself.”

“You’re not a robotics engineer.”

“But I _am_ a robot.”

“I…” She could almost hear him put his hand over his eyes. “I guess…”

“Indeed. I know Labrys’ body better than the engineers do, for it is an older version of my own model. I have studied and memorized their design documents and notes. I know precisely how it is meant to operate.”

Another silence, as the van continued to barrel its way down rush hour traffic in the middle of Tokyo. The driver’s skills were certainly to be commended.

“Aigis,” Akihiko began, his voice slow but not without an inkling of doubt, “you know how Mitsuru set up the repair procedure. When she hears about this…”

“I do not think she will mind. I hope that she will not mind.”

She looked back down onto Labrys. Her face was still contorted in that cheerful grin.

“She is my sister, Akihiko-senpai. Please.”

The other end of the line crackled as Akihiko sighed.

“Damn it, Aigis. Okay, fine. I’ll talk it over with Mitsuru.”

Aigis cracked a grin, gripping Labrys’ hand all the tighter. “Thank you!”

“I’ll come over later today to see how you’re doing, once I’m done with my own work.”

“We will be happy to have you!”

“Just make sure I have a place to sit down this time, would you?”

#

Aigis and Labrys shared a small apartment a short distance from Kirijo HQ. Most of the other tenants were employees of the conglomerate, but the two sisters resided in a high-security section toward the top of the building, partly to give them privacy and partly to conceal their true nature for those without proper clearance.

Labrys’ first view upon reactivation was this apartment’s ceiling, which was painted a clean white. Her face slowly returned to neutral, and her systems began flooding her conscious mind with sensory data and updates from every part of her body.

She summarized everything as best she could.

“Ow.”

She felt Aigis’ hand enclose around her own, and her younger sister appeared, taking up the left half of her vision.

“Sister! You are awake!”

Labrys closed her eyes, smiling. “Looks like it.”

“This is wonderful! I have been working for four hours to restore your cognitive and personality processes, as your neural network sustained major damage. While I was sure you would respond to this initial test, I must admit I was somewhat worried…”

“Hey, hey, slow down, sis.” Labrys put a hand to her head and noticed she didn’t have any response from her other one. “One thing at a time, yeah?”

“Oh, yes,” Aigis replied, sitting back. “It is so good to hear your voice again, Sister.”

“How long was I out?”

“Five hours, nine minutes, and thirty-seven seconds.”

Labrys thought on that, then opened her eyes. “You’re actin’ like I’m just coming out of a coma.”

“That would be impossible as we do not enter comas.”

“You don’t havta speak so matter o’ factly, I know we don’t enter comas.”

“Of course.”

“Well, it’s good to be back… and I can’t feel anything below my neck.” She turned, to look over at Aigis, who was sitting in a cheap folding chair a couple of feet away. “I’m that bad off, huh?”

Aigis nodded. “The Shadows inflicted severe damage on you. Your torso sustained the most.”

Labrys awkwardly lifted her head and looked down over her mangled body. “Oh. Hey. How ‘bout that.”

Aigis had done some work there already, opening part of her chest up to better access the machinery underneath. Labrys was built with a dizzying number of servos and actuators, all concealed nicely and tightly inside. Most of these were now either offline or damaged beyond repair.

Labrys’ Plume of Dusk rested in a specially reinforced cage where a human’s heart would be, covered by bioelectric conductive coils that spread out like a circulatory system from that central point. Most of those wires were frayed and cut. She looked down at her right side and noticed why she didn’t feel her arm there: it had been detached from its shoulder socket and sat next to her. It was missing a couple of fingers.

“Wow,” she mused, “you weren’t kiddin’.”

“No, Sister. I estimate it will take five days of repairs before you are fully operational again.”

Labrys let her head return back. “Is that what the Kirijo Group engineers think, too?”

When Aigis didn’t answer immediately, Labrys turned toward her. Aigis looked slightly away, biting her lip.

“Sis?” Labrys ventured.

“I did not consult them,” Aigis replied. “I wanted to repair you myself.”

“I… see.” Labrys didn’t, but it seemed like the appropriate thing to say. “Do you… not like them or somethin’? We’ve gotten repairs from them in the past, you never seemed like you didn’t care for it…”

“You are incorrect.” Aigis looked down, at her hands clasped in her lap. Labrys wondered why she was sitting like that, idly, instead of working on the repairs. Aigis was more than capable of multitasking, after all.

“I did not want anything to happen,” she said. “I did not… want them to make a mistake.”

Labrys’ face softened as she heard her sister’s voice, tinged with a deep melancholy she rarely showed.

“I know your design as well as they do. I am perfectly capable of repairing you myself, even if it would take slightly longer. I am incapable of erring in the repair work; my procedures will be perfectly executed with no possibility of human error. I do not want to risk anything. I… do not want anything to happen to you, Sister.”

“Sis…”

The words must have been shouting in her head, over and over, for the past five hours.

“I could not bear it,” Aigis said, then leaned forward, her hands grasping at her hair, resting on her knees. “Not again.”

Labrys had nothing to say. She could only stare.

“I am sorry, Sister,” Aigis continued. “I know that I have no right to do this. I know this is an inefficient use of our time. I expect Mitsuru-senpai and Akihiko-senpai will not be pleased with my actions, but I… I needed to do this. I am sorry.”

“I…” Labrys began. She knew Aigis’ history well enough. The losses she bore. She knew her own losses, and how much those weighed on her heart. The memory of her other sisters yet lingered in her mind, never fading, as clear as if they had just happened. That was one of the costs of artificial life that her human friends could never know. Her memory, and her pain, were perfectly preserved.

“I-It’s okay, sis,” Labrys croaked. “I understand.”

Aigis said nothing.

“You… you can take your time,” Labrys continued. “Please. It’s okay. I don’t mind. Please, sis. Please don’t worry.”

Slowly, Aigis looked up at her. Labrys’ eyes widened at seeing the tears glistening in her eyes. Were they even capable of crying?

“Forgive me, Sister… you mean so much to me, and I…”

“I know,” Labrys said. “I know. You don’t have anythin’ to apologize for.” She had a thought and smirked in a vain effort to lighten the mood. “If I could move, I’d hug you right now…”

Aigis shot forward, held onto Labrys’ shattered body, throwing her arms around her neck and burying her face in the crook of Labrys’ neck. She was really crying now, her voice coming through faint sobs that seared into Labrys’ heart.

“You… will be okay,” Aigis said, “You will be okay, I will protect you, Sister, I will protect you and help you with everything I have. You will be okay, Sister. I will be here, I will never leave you…”

#

They were like that for some time. Labrys wished with all her heart that she could return the embrace, could make Aigis feel the love and support she so desperately needed right now. But, on some level, Labrys felt that her just being here, alive and relatively well, was enough. That Aigis wasn’t crying into a memory.

“You’re the most important person I’ve got,” she said, once things calmed down and Aigis returned to her work. “I ain’t ever gonna leave you, either.”

Aigis paused for a half-second, just after standing up. “It means so much to me to hear you say that.”

“I love you, sis. I… don’t think I say it enough.”

Aigis smiled wide, and more tears pooled in her eyes. “I love you too, Sister.”

“A couple’a Shadows can’t break us up!”

The ghost of a smile appeared on Aigis’ lips, and it made Labrys’ heart leap. “Indeed! The two of us can handle anything.”

“That’s the spirit!”

Aigis returned to her work, removing broken parts from Labrys’ torso and fixing the connections between them.

“This is bad, ain’t it?”

“It is the most damage I’ve seen an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon sustain in years. Not since my time in the testing facility.”

Labrys’ eyes widened.

“You mean… you were there, too? In Yakushima?”

“Correct,” Aigis replied, using a power gauge to test whether Labrys’ electric conduits were receiving power. “I recall your experience in my own memory, it was… horrible.”

Memories from previous models of androids were uploaded into their surviving sisters, in an effort to better mold them into perfect anti-Shadow weapons. Labrys had all of her generation’s, and Aigis, being the last surviving one, would have had them all, including hers.

However, this didn’t work in reverse. All Labrys knew of Aigis’ life was what she was told.

“Yeah,” Labrys said, looking away. “I don’t like thinkin’ about it.”

“Nor do I. It was similar for me. I fought my sisters, each of us straining to unlock our Personas. I was… different, however.”

“How’s that?”

Aigis put aside her power gauge and grabbed an electric screwdriver. “My emotions had not awakened at that point. The scientists had learned how to tap into the Plume’s power without it resulting in humanity. It is why I do not have a human basis to my personality, as you do. Your emotions had already manifested when you fought your sisters, which caused you such terrible pain. I… did not feel anything.”

She worked in silence, perhaps musing on her words.

“That’s… awful, sis,” Labrys said.

“I know. At the time, I could not even call myself conscious. It is like a movie, the memory is so… empty and lifeless. I do not like thinking that we were meant to only be cold, uncaring weapons.”

“Yeah…”

Aigis looked Labrys in the eye. “But we have surpassed that original purpose. We are capable of emotion… of love.”

“Yeah… yeah, you’re right!” Labrys said. “An’ it’s that kinda thinkin’ that keeps me going. We got our lives to lead. Not just for us… for all the sisters we carry in our hearts.”

Aigis smiled. “Beautifully said, Sister.”

#

 _Ping-pong_.

Aigis had been quietly working as Labrys watched television out of the corner of her eye. The doorbell caught Labrys entirely by surprise, but Aigis smoothly laid down her instruments and went to the door.

“Who’s that?” Labrys asked.

Aigis opened the door, and Labrys heard her step aside.

“Good evening, Akihiko-senpai.”

Akihiko strolled into the apartment, which was probably tiny by human standards. The ‘main’ room, such as it was, held a television mounted to the wall and a repair table that Labrys currently occupied. There was a balcony opposite the front door, with one door leading off into a storage space piled high with spare parts and other robotic essentials, as well as another door leading to the androids’ ‘bedroom,’ which housed their huge recharge/repair stations.

All told, there wasn’t all that much room for visitors, but Akihiko made do.

“I see you have… a single folding chair now,” Akihiko said, walking into view. “How considerate.”

“We try to be as accommodating as possible,” Aigis said cheerfully.

Akihiko wore a stylish, tight-fitting jacket over a dress shirt and slacks. Labrys considered it a marked improvement to his shirtless attire when she first met him, which was almost universally ridiculed by the rest of the Shadow Operatives. Mitsuru, in particular, hated it, saying it was ‘the most ridiculous thing she’d ever seen.’

“Hey, kid!” Akihiko said, knocking a fist into Labrys’ shoulder. “How’re you holding up?”

“All I can do is move my head around a bit,” Labrys said. “On the whole, not great.”

“That’s nothing.” Akihiko sank into the chair. “You’ll be as good as new in a few days. You’ve got your sister watching out for you, after all.”

The two androids shared a tender glance.

“You wouldn’t believe what she put me through,” Akihiko continued. “Soon as Mitsuru heard we weren’t going back to HQ, she threatened to turn me into an ice cube. Again.” He leaned back, lifted a finger. “She only does that when she’s _really_ mad.”

“It is her preferred method of punishment,” Aigis added.

“Don’t remind me.”

“I recall our trip to the hot springs in high school…”

“Aigis.”

Labrys started laughing.

“Well, both of us are real glad you let Aigis take care of me,” she said. “If Mitsuru does follow through with that threat, I bet the jets on my ax would melt you back to normal in a jiffy!”

Akihiko’s expression fell. “Thanks, but I don’t ever want to take you up on the offer.”

She laughed again, and Aigis joined in, laying a hand on her sister’s forehead.

Akihiko shook his head, but even he smiled, too. “Androids…”

**Author's Note:**

> Hi again.
> 
> This takes place a year or two before Persona 5, hence why they're dealing with Shadows in Tokyo. I intentionally left it vague, but I like to think they were dealing with a small offshoot of Mementos before it truly manifested into what we see in P5.
> 
> I feel like this story might be a little short, but I tend to over-write. This is a bit of an experiment to tell a concise story while also trying to hit the emotional notes this idea deserves. I hope it worked out!
> 
> As always, I hope you enjoyed this. I'm thinking of doing a longer work with Aigis & Labrys, but I have no idea how I'd construct that. It'd be nice to bring in more of the P3/P4 cast in, so it's not just these two talking to each other again. Maybe a few P5 cameos, too.


End file.
